


Black Out

by MsFaust



Series: Inky Tales [4]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Alternate Universe, Black Out AU, Gen, Mutagenic ink, Superpowers, Unethical Experimentation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2018-12-10 20:33:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11699385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsFaust/pseuds/MsFaust
Summary: In which Joey's experiments take a different path.Loosely inspired by Venom (from Spider-Man) and themarginalartist's Ink Henry AU.





	1. Suit Up

Having found the required objects and activated the Ink Machine's flow, Henry returned to the Machine Room. He was still unsure as to why Joey wanted him to turn the damn thing on in the first place, but he had a feeling that his former friend wouldn't give him any answers otherwise. Upon his arrival, he saw that the machine was surrounded by an inch-deep pool of ink, big enough to fill the room and growing rapidly larger.

Without warning, a large blob of the ink sprang out of the pool, slamming into his chest with enough force to knock him to the floor. As he pulled himself to his feet, he found that the ink was spreading itself over his body, taking on a latex-like texture as it did so. He pulled at the stuff furiously as he stumbled out of the room, but it refused to come off. He was so focused on trying to remove the ink that he didn't notice that he'd made it to the exit. But he definitely noticed when the floor seemed to give way, and he fell, the ink still making its way over his body. He let out a grunt as he hit the ground.

"That...didn't hurt as much as I thought it would."

Pulling himself up, Henry took stock of the room. The only notable thing present was a mirror. Well, that and the ominous words "The Creator Lied To Us" written in the same hand as the messages upstairs.

Henry shook himself, before approaching the mirror, only to recoil in surprise. His body was completely covered by the black liquid, though he was thankfully still able to breathe. Curiously enough, there were two white blotches where his eyes would be, resembling the pie-cut eyes he was familiar with. They didn't seem to be actual eyes, though, as they didn't move when he blinked.

"The hell is this?"

He raised a hand to his face, feeling the strange material. Under his fingers, the substance felt something like a cross between liquid and fabric. It was as if he were wearing a full-body suit of some kind.

"Joey, you have a lot of explaining to do," he muttered.

He looked around, hoping to find a way out of the room, but the only doorway he could see was boarded up--by whom, he had no idea. Punching the boards in frustration, he was surprised to see them break apart as if they were made of cardboard. He looked at his hand, surprised by his newfound strength.

The room on the other side held a large pentagram drawn with ink, surrounded by candles, as well as a few coffins (Henry wasn't sure he wanted to know what was in those) and a couple of chairs. Lying in the middle of the pentagram was a familiar face--one he had seen so many times, but never expected to actually meet face to face.

"Bendy?" Henry asked softly.

With great caution, he approached the small form. Bendy appeared to be sleeping, his chest rising and falling slowly. As he knelt down to get a better look, he could faintly see various marks--were they from needles?

At that moment, Bendy started to wake up. Peering weakly up through half-closed eyes, he began to tremble.

"No, Joey," the little demon pleaded. "No more..."

"Bendy, it's me."

Suddenly, the ink receded slightly, leaving Henry's head exposed. Upon seeing the former animator's face, a spark of hope appeared in Bendy's eyes.

"H-Henry?"

Henry nodded. "I can't believe you're...What has Joey been _doing_ here?"


	2. Overreach

"Hear me, Bendy! Arise from the darkness! Arise and claim my offering!"

"Sammy, whaddya think you're doing?"

As his self-proclaimed 'prophet' spun around, Bendy folded his arms, giving a disapproving glare.

"My-my lord, I--"

"Look, I don't know where you got the idea that I could fix you, but even if I knew how, this ain't gonna get me to help ya."

Sammy drew back. "You...you are not pleased?"

Bendy walked over to Sammy, gesturing for the ex-music director to lean down so they were face to face.

"Sammy, I may be a demon, but I'm a _cartoon_ demon. Human sacrifice? Not my thing. Especially not when the sacrifice is someone who means as much to me as Henry. Besides, all those shrines are like something out of a church. Y'know, like the one your dad was a reverend at? Didn't you say you'd never be like him?"

At these words, something inside Sammy broke. He stood in stunned silence for a moment, before collapsing to his knees.

"Oh God," he gasped out. "Wh-what have I done?"

Bendy put a hand on Sammy's shoulder. "Hey, don't worry. I'm sure Henry'll be able to help you out. After all, he's just as eager to get out of here as you and me. C'mon."

(BATIM)

Emerging into the room where Henry had been bound, they found that the ropes had been snapped. Not only had they not been tied properly, but they were also quite old, so it clearly hadn't taken much effort for the ex-animator to escape. Sammy looked as if he were about to say something, but a loud rumbling cut him off.

Looking up, they saw one of the ceiling pipes shake, before it burst with a loud crashing noise. A black flood came rushing towards the duo, sweeping them off their feet. Swept beneath the surface, Sammy accidentally got a lungful of ink.

All at once, he felt a bizarre sensation, his whole body feeling less liquid, yet still semi-fluid.

_Air! I need air!_

On the surface of the ink flood, Bendy swam in place, looking around wildly.

"Sammy! Sammy, can you hear me?"

Just as he was about to give up, Bendy saw an arm--unnaturally long, but otherwise human--emerge from the black, grabbing hold of a door jamb. A moment later, Sammy's no-longer-inky head broke the surface, gasping for air.

"Uwah!"

Turning sharply as he caught his breath, Sammy saw Bendy getting swept away. Instinctively, he reached out with his other arm, watching as it stretched out to grab the little Toon.

"Got you!"

Slowly, the flow began to subside to where Bendy could stand up, eventually receding to just below his waist. As the two got their bearings, Sammy looked at his arms, retracting them back to their normal length.

"Well," Bendy said after a moment. "At least ya look human again."

"True," Sammy admitted. "But this...may take some getting used to."

(BATIM)

Meanwhile, Henry had broken free from his bindings, and made his way down the hall. As he did so, he allowed the suit to emerge from the pentagram on his hand, covering his body completely.

After a while, he found himself approaching a large pool of ink, smack in the middle of the hallway intersection. Before he could decide which way to go, the surface bubbled before a lanky form popped out--one that looked like an ink covered, monstrous version of Bendy. Letting out a cry of alarm, Henry jumped, forgetting that the suit enhanced his leg strength, not just that of his upper body. He found himself on the ceiling, the suit keeping him from falling into the ink pool.

_Oh God, please don't fall, please don't fall, please, please, please don't fall._

As the ink monster pulled itself out of the pool, Henry pressed himself against the ceiling, staying as quiet as he possibly could. Thankfully, he didn't have to worry about getting dizzy as he watched the monster head down the hall, in the direction he had just come from. Looking closely, Henry noticed that one of its ankles was off, like it hadn't formed properly or was broken. Almost like...

"Joey?" he muttered.

His old friend had suffered from a wonky heel for as long as Henry had known him. In his later years, he'd started using a chair on days when it was acting up.

 _If that is Joey_ , he thought. _Then did he somehow turn himself into that thing? Or is it another kind of ink suit?_

By this time, the beast had disappeared from view. Still, Henry wasn't about to take chances. Moving as stealthily as he could across the ceiling, he made his way through the halls. Finally, he spotted Bendy and Sammy by a door marked "Vault 3." The latter was kneeling on the ground, eyes narrowed in concentration.

"Henry!" Bendy hissed, having spotted him. "Down here!"

"I see you." Henry let go of the ceiling landing on the floor like a cat. Allowing the suit to reveal his head, he approached Sammy. "Good to see you're back to normal."

"Not quite," Sammy said. "I may look human again, but I'm not exactly the same as I was before. From what I know of Joey's experiments, my previous form was due to pulling out the needle partway through--not the best idea, in hindsight. After swallowing some of the ink in that flood, the change was completed." There was a clicking noise. "Ah, got it."

Retracting his arm, he tried the door. It opened, and the three entered, looking around for any sign of enemies.

"I think we're safe here."

"Not so fast." Henry held up a finger. "I hear something."

Proving his point, an empty Bacon Soup can rolled out from behind a corner. Only a moment later, a familiar wolf emerged.

"Boris!" Bendy ran forward, hugging his fellow Toon. "You're okay!"

Henry snapped his fingers. "That's right! You did say the Ink Machine could bring him back if he hadn't been dead too long."

"Yup!" Boris said happily. "I'm right as rain now!"

It was impossible for Henry or Sammy not to smile at the happy reunion. And it felt good to smile again.


	3. Fall From Grace

"Back off!"

Susie threw out a hand, and the swollen Searchers were knocked back by flying objects.

"How many more of these things are there?"

"Just keep at them," Alice replied, using an oversized mallet to keep more Searchers off her voice actress's back.

"Girls!" Norman shouted from the other end of the hall. "Look! It's Bendy and Boris! And they've got company!"

Eyes lighting up, the two cleared a path, running over to where the other two Toons were watching a suited-up Henry fighting a monster resembling an ink-covered human with a projector for a head.

"Aw, damn." Norman gave a shudder. "That thing again?"

"Norman! I never thought I'd be glad to see you!" Henry grabbed the monster, lifting it and throwing it against the wall.

"That won't keep him down for long," Norman replied, holding out his hands. "Shut your eyes. It's gonna get bright."

A brilliant flash of light filled the room. The Projectionist let out a roar of agony, holding up its hands as if to shield itself. At the same time, Henry felt himself lifted up by an invisible force, and carried through the air.

<There. You should be in punching range.>

Briefly caught off guard by Susie's voice in his mind, Henry nonetheless swung a fist. He was rewarded with the sound of the projector shattering.

"We're good. You can open 'em now."

Henry opened his eyes, seeing the Projectionist lying motionless on the floor. As he was lowered to the floor, he caught sight of Alice and Susie approaching.

"Alice!" Bendy said happily. "You're OK!"

"I knew it! I knew she couldn't have gone all bossy and mean!" Boris's look of relief turned to one of confusion. "Although...who was asking us to do all that stuff, then?"

(BATIM)

"WAAAHHH-HAH-HAH-HAH!"

"There, there, Allison." Susie held the disfigured woman as she sobbed. "It's OK, it's OK. We'll fix this."

"Wh-why are you helping me?" Allison bawled. "I-I took the role of Alice from you, I killed Boris, and I tried to kill you! I'm a freak! I'm a monster!"

"Hey, you didn't do this to yourself," Bendy pointed out. "Joey's the one who wanted 'a better Alice,' right? Besides, if Susie had stayed, she'd probably have had this done to her instead of getting an ink shot."

"And like Susie said, we'll get you back to normal," Henry added. "Or, normal-looking at least, if Sammy's any indication."

(BATIM)

"It's gonna be a while before I get used to seeing you do this," Norman commented, placing a vial of ink in Sammy's hand.

"Well, it's better than my previous condition," Sammy responded, retracting his arm and setting the vial on the table next to Joey's notes. "And for the record, if you make one Mr. Fantastic joke..."

"No problem," Norman held up his hands. "And I promised Henry I wouldn't make any Spider-Man jokes either."

"Thank you." Sammy peered at the page of notes, widening his eyes to get a better look.

"Gross! Cut that out!"

Sammy shot a glare at the former conductor. "I can't help that Joey has terrible handwriting. Now make with the glowing hands, will you? I need more light."


	4. Curiouser and Curiouser

Wally Franks thought he couldn't be surprised by anything that happened at Joey Drew Studios.

Boy, had he been wrong.

Some time ago, he had been called back by his former boss, who said he had something to show the former janitor. The 'something' in question had turned out to be a syringe full of ink, which had gone straight into his arm.

When Wally regained consciousness, he was sitting on what he thought was an enormous wooden chair. Looking around, however, he realized that the chair was normal-sized, as were the projector and the tape recorder next to it. He'd been shrunk to the size of a Bendy doll.

Luckily, it seemed he was able to resume normal size, though he stayed small as much as he could. Easier to investigate when you don't have to worry about Searchers spotting you.

While he did plan on getting out of the studio eventually, his curiosity about Joey's experiments had gotten the better of him.

(BATIM)

"For the love of God, will you leave me alone?"

The former janitor scrambled to get away from the Butcher Gang. He had no desire to let them touch him--if one of them did, they'd be able to generate a deformed clone of him, like they did with Boris, Norman, and each other.

He had no idea where or how Joey had gotten a chimpanzee, a baboon, or a spider monkey from--nor did he want to know--but despite being turned into characters from the Bendy cartoon, they still acted much like their old selves. For example, while they knew a few words, they usually just made screeching noises.

"Okay, seriously?"

And now they were throwing handfuls of ink at him. Terrific.

"At least it's just ink they're throwing," he grumbled, climbing to a higher shelf. "Damn dirty monkeys."

(BATIM)

Letting out a sigh of relief, Wally slumped against the wall, next to the writing on the wall. He still had no idea who had written it, but he guessed it was one of the Toons. After all, Joey was the one who brought them into reality, and thus their creator.

As he resumed normal size, he noticed an unexpected smell in the room--the smell of smoke.

_Oh crap, I really hope that's not from something catching fire. That's the last thing I need right now._

He followed the smell towards the room connecting the basement to Utility Shaft 9. Inside, a cloud of smoke hovered over the pentagram on the floor. Wally took a quick glance around, noting with relief how the candles were all still upright.

"Wally?"

Jumping slightly, Wally looked around. He didn't see anyone else in the room, but that was clearly the voice of Thomas Connor.

"Tommy? That you, pal?"

In response, the smoke cloud began to change form, taking a humanlike shape. Within seconds it was a perfect duplicate of the mechanic in appearance.

"Drew got you too, huh?"

Thomas nodded, looking down at himself. "Funny thing is, I was actually trying to quit smoking when he called me back. When I first woke up after he jabbed me with that needle, I spent a few minutes throwing up all the tar that was in my lungs."

Wally shuddered. "Sounds nasty."

"It was."

Opening the door leading to the utility shaft, he turned to look at the other man, who by this time had reassumed flesh and blood form.

"Good to see you ain't stuck like that. Come on."


	5. Second Sight

"Ooh, me head..."

Shawn's head swam as he sat up. For a moment, he thought he was suffering the effects of a hangover. Then he recalled how he'd been called back to the studio by Joey Drew, only to be assaulted by his former boss and stuck with an ink-filled syringe.

Looking around, he realized he was in the toy machine room, surrounded by various dolls and toys. He shoved a couple of dolls off him, pulling himself up.

"What the hell am I doin' here?"

A noise behind him caught his attention. Turning, he found himself looking at a creature resembling a mutilated version of Edgar. It raised an arm, which looked very much like an extender bar with a hand attached, and charged forward.

Yelping in alarm, Shawn scrambled back. As he did so, he felt an unfamiliar shifting sensation, the world seeming to grow larger around him as his body began to transform, taking the form of a small lizard. He didn't notice in his panic, but as he was changing, he had run up the side of one of the shelves.

Down below, the Striker briefly looked around, before leaving the room. Shawn breathed a sigh of relief as the creature's footsteps faded away, before realizing what had just happened to him. Shocked, he let go and fell to the floor, turning back to his human form as he did so.

"Oof!"

Rubbing his backside, the toymaker stood up, mind reeling as he tried to process everything. He looked down at his hands, relieved to see them human once more.

"What was that about?"

A thought struck him. Closing his eyes, he formed a mental picture of a small bird in his mind. Instantly, he felt the shifting sensation, and upon opening his eyes, the room seemed larger once again. He turned his head to look at where his arm would be, seeing a feathered wing instead.

"Well, I'll be."

Flapping his wings, he rose into the air--a bit shaky at first, but he quickly got the hang of it. With a laugh, he flew off through the hallways.

(BATIM)

"Damnit," Grant cursed, holding up the remains of his glasses. "These were new glasses." He sighed. "At least I don't need to replace them."

When he'd awoken in that abandoned room on Level 9, he'd found that his eyesight had improved considerably. More notable, however, was his newfound vision-related abilities. Not only could he see much further, and through the walls, but apparently his eyes were also able to generate powerful blasts of energy, which he'd used to take out a few of those Butcher Gang clones wandering the halls. Unfortunately, he'd dropped his glasses, and they'd been crushed under a Piper's foot.

"Grant? Tha' you?"

Looking around, Grant saw Shawn perched on a railing, resting his wings. Not recognizing the toymaker, he blinked in confusion.

"Huh? Who said that?"

In response, Shawn leapt off and flew down, turning back to human form as he landed. Grant started briefly, almost blasting Shawn.

"So it's not just me, then."

(BATIM)

"There's too many of these things!" shouted Wally. "We'll never get past 'em at this rate!"

"I can't land a blow while I'm in smoke form," Thomas growled. "And it doesn't look like they need to breathe, so choking 'em' is out."

Fortunately, it was at that moment that Shawn and Grant ran in, the former in the shape of an elephant. He charged into the swarm of Searchers with tusks and feet, while Grant ran over and scooped up the pint-sized janitor.

"Wally? Are you all right?"

"I will be once we're safe," Wally said. He looked over at the fight. "Where'd the elephant come from?"

"Apparently, Shawn can now turn into animals," Grant explained. "While I seem to have various vision-related abilities."

He gave a prompt demonstration by blasting a Searcher that was trying to sneak up on them.

"Nice!" Wally complimented.

"Looks like that's the last of them," Thomas said, descending and reverting to human form. "Now let's get moving and find a way out of here."


	6. Tower of Babel

"I still can't believe Joey was actually planning to create an amusement park," Henry remarked. "Then again, he always dreamt big."

"And if that recording we found is any indication, making Bendy as big a star as Mickey Mouse was the most mundane of his dreams," added Sammy.

Holding up a hand, Norman shone a beam of light around the room. "Just be lucky you didn't end up like those folks back there. Wish there was something we could do for 'em."

"I think they were the park employees," Alice said. "But I don't think Joey did that to them."

Susie gave the angel a surprised look. "Are you sure? It sounds like something he would do."

"Bertrum did it," Bendy said. "He got the machine to dump a ton of ink on 'em, even after Joey said not to. Said it was too much."

Henry had never met Bertrum Piedmont, but given what he'd heard about the man, it somehow didn't surprise him that the park designer was a willing accomplice to Joey's plans. "Do you know if he's here?"

"Oh, he's here alright," Bendy said. "But he's...well, you'll have to see for yourself."

(BATIM)

Entering the Attraction Storage room, they immediately spotted a large octopus ride, with what appeared to be a large screen facing in each direction. Nearby, another recording lay, which Susie telekinetically pulled over. Henry hit play, and Bertrum Piedmont's voice was heard again.

"The biggest park ever built, a centerfold of attractions. Each one, more grand than the one before it. It makes my eyes come to tears at the thought. But then...oh Mr. Drew. For all your talk of dreams, you are the true architect behind so many nightmares. I built this park. It was to be a masterpiece! My masterpiece! And now you think you can just throw me out? Trample me to the dust and forget me? No! This is my park! My glory! You may think I've gone...But I'm still here!"

As the tape ended, the voice of Bertrum Piedmont rang out.

"Yes, I'm still here!"

All eyes immediately turned to the ride as the screens crackled to life. Upon them, the face of a man with a neatly trimmed mustache looked out, laughing haughtily.

"Is that Piedmont?"

"What happened to him?"

"Simple, Miss Campbell," Bertrum sneered. "I wasn't about to let Joey Drew ruin everything I had worked so hard to achieve, so I took back my park the best way I knew how. You see, this is no mere carnival ride, but a highly advanced computer, with control over so much of the studio's machinery. My body may be long gone, but my mind still lives within. And I will not let anyone take what is rightfully mine again!"

With that, the arms of the machine began to swing around, slamming into the floor every so often. Activating his suit, Henry took a quick glance around.

"In order to shut him down, we'll have to take out those arms first. Girls, you go high and attack from the air. Norman, stay back and strike from a distance. Sammy, see if you can pin one of those arms down. Bendy, Boris, you're with me."

The group sprang into action. Allison grabbed Norman, spread her wings, and took to the air, while Susie used her powers to levitate herself and Alice. Drawing her sword, the angel slashed at the cables holding one of the arms to the main body of the ride. Meanwhile, Henry, Bendy, and Boris started breaking the cables for two of the other arms, the demon and wolf using axes while Henry just used his enhanced strength.

"If one of y'all can keep that last arm still, I could probably snipe it," Norman called down.

Sammy immediately grabbed the nearest arm, wrapping his own arms around it while using his legs to grab a nearby pole. Placing his hands together, Norman formed a finger gun, shooting focused beams of light that snapped the cables.

Finally, all four arms went down, leaving Bertrum's main console vulnerable. Springing onto it, Henry punched the screen and tore out several of the wires. With one last anguished cry, the park designer's face faded.

"Can't say I'm happy that we had to do that," he muttered.

"He wasn't going to let us leave," Sammy reminded him as he pulled himself back together. "The only way out was through him. Now let's--"

A sudden rumbling cut him off. The ceiling above them had been loosened by the cables, and was starting to come down.

"Everyone get close!" Susie shouted. "I'll try and make a shield!"

They gathered around, several of them shutting their eyes. But the impact never came.

"Ha!" came a triumphant shout. "I did it!"

Looking up, Henry saw the now 30-foot tall form of Wally Franks holding up a large chunk of ceiling. A moment later, Shawn, Thomas, and Grant came running in.

"Damn, that's impressive." Thomas let out a whistle.

"I had a feeling you guys were here," Henry said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Now let's get moving. We need to see if there's anyone else here we can save, and then we're getting out."


End file.
